Decision support method for multi-criteria selection of bridge rehabilitation strategy

Bridge management is the decision-making process for selecting and prioritizing the actions necessary to maintain a bridge within acceptable limits of safety and serviceability. The current decision-making approach for bridge management is based on optimizing the life cycle cost of the structure. This is a single criterion decision-making process which does not include the indirect impact of the maintenance, repair and replacement actions. Sound bridge management decisions should be made through balanced consideration of multiple and conflicting criteria. This requirement motivated the development of a multi-criteria decision support method for bridge deck management. The method is based on a modified analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate and rank alternative bridge rehabilitation strategies. The modified AHP provides an effective analytical tool to deal with complex decision making and has the following features: (1) multi-criteria decision-making process; (2) accounts for the uncertainty associated with the pairwise comparison values; and (3) provides a sensitive evaluation of consistency in judgements. The proposed decision support method is a rational decision-making technique for bridge management. The method practicality and validity is demonstrated using a real case study from the industry.